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Understanding Criminal charges

Criminal charges are the crime a person is being charged with. There are three different ways of showing the charges to a person. Criminal charges are in the form of information, indictment or a citation.

Information

Information is not someone just walking up and telling a person they have criminal charges. Is what information means is there was a complaint about criminal activity, and a person was named in the crime. This is handled by the prosecutor filing a written document ask that the criminal charges be initiated against the said person.

Indictment

An indictment comes from the grand jury and is a formal charge. The way this is used is all the evidence is looked at, and then a decision is made if there is enough to make a case and charge a person with the crime. A grand jury is used when the crime is considered a felony.

When a grand jury is called in to meet on criminal charges and go over things, no one will know. They keep it quiet for the simple fact that sometimes they will need to talk with different witnesses that seen the crime happen. The witnesses help the grand jury decide if there is enough evidence to go on.

Citation

If a person receives a citation, it means they have done something and a police officer has pulled them over. If the officer finds the person at fault, then they will issue a citation also known as a ticket. With a citation on the back, it will say when the person is due to appear in court. A simple citation can cost a person anywhere from $20 up to a couple of hundred dollars. It just all depends on upon what the person did to get the citation to begin with.

Conclusion

A person could also be charged with what is called attempt. Attempt means the person was already in the process of committing the crime and then fled. Even though the offense was not finished, the person attempted it.